Observation and analysis (2 hours)
After watching the video: Introduction to Photography: The Camera by Ben Long (1h 52m), please answer the following questions. If necessary, refer to your Camera Manual:
Name all the functions / buttons on the front of your camera
Name all the functions / buttons on the back of your camera
Explain how you would set the correct ISO
Explain how you would change the aperture
Explain how you would change the shutter speed
My camera story (scroll down if you want to skip and see only the task)
As I have mentioned before I bought my first DSLR camera in 2013, about a year after I came to Norway. I was a beginner, so I decided to buy a cheaper camera, aimed for beginners to get me started. I did some research on the brands and after a lot of good reviews I went with Nikon. I bought a bundle that had a camera body - Nikon D3300 + a standard 50mm lens. This camera has crop sensor, small in size and very light. I started practicing on "Auto mode", I went out and shot whatever I could find. I was shooting in JPEG format and did not edit any of my photos at that time.
After a while I decided to learn more about photography, so I searched for video tutorials on Youtube and found Jared Polin and his awesome channel (link). I started to understand how to improve my photography even further. He recommended that we shoot in RAW format and switch to "Manual mode" as soon as we can after we have learned the camera basics. And so I did, I felt confident enough to make this change and practice with that. At first it was confusing, I had to do all the settings on my own, change everything for every specific shot. In the end I decided to use the Aperture-priority option on the camera instead of full Manual and have been doing that ever since, although I have a few cases that I had to go full manual or set to another priority.
I was also a bit confused with the RAW format, Polin promised me that RAW format is the best format and that it preserves the information in the picture, so I would download all RAW files to my computer and wonder what to do with them. I could not open them as normal file to even see my results, so then I installed a RAW file reader and try to compare the photo to the JPEG. Needles to say I did not see what the difference was. The pictures looked exactly the same and made me wonder what was so amazing with this RAW format.
I then came back to watching the Polins videos and then noticed that he was using Adobe Lightroom to edit his photos and that's where I was supposed to use that format. So I downloaded Lightroom, started a free trial and started learning. Since the program was a bit confusing for me I watched how Jared was doing his edits and tried to mimic that.
I also did some test on my own between RAW and JPEG, I would load both formats and try to edit them. And this is when I saw what Polin was talking about, RAW format saves more information and therefore is better option if you want to distinguish yourself from everyone else and be more professional. I could reduce the highlights and reveal an amazing sky or bump up the shadows to get more information from that photo. That did not work well with the JPEG format.
After a lot of trial and error, I started noticing that Jared and other photographers were talking a lot about different lenses and their different uses. I wanted to explore these options, but my budget was way smaller than these youtube professionals. The first lens I bought was Nikkor 70-300mm zoom lens. It did not have auto focus, so I had to push myself to start learning to focus on my own. The next lens I bought was my all time favorite that I own - my macro lens. I went with Tamron 90mm f/2.8, because it had awesome reviews and this lens lived up to my expectations. I was mesmerized with macro photography, I did a lot of experimentation. At some point I even ordered extra rings that would help me to push the lens even more and zoom even deeper. I was not too happy with the results of that, images were blurry and very hard to work with, I was also not able to use the auto focus on the lens with having rings between it and the camera body. So eventfully I decided to just work the lens as it's meant to be used. At this time I was working in a hotel in Honefoss and they noticed I was trying with photography and asked me to take a few photos of the rooms, to put on their website. I then realized that none of my lenses could do that properly, I needed a wide angle lens to be able to fit the whole room in my photos. As I was also trying out landscape photography at that time I decided that it was worth investing in a wide angle lens and so I got a Sigma 10-12mm wide angle lens and it worked. Since then I have used this lens quite a lot for my landscape photos and it's been good. I also obtained a solid 50mm lens without zoom which I learned is essential for portrait photography and that it gives the best possible results in that sphere. A lot of the youtubers swore that this lens is a must have for every photographer, I have done a few portraits with it, but I am yet to explore the full potential it can offer to me.
About two years ago I got an opportunity to photograph two somewhat rare birds for the area that had landed near my home. I used my zoom lens and managed to get a few shots before they got scared. The whole process took a lot of time and effort, because of my bad quality lens. I had to get really close to the birds and had to manually focus as I was moving closer and closer. I was told after that I should send these pictures to the local newspaper and see if they pick one for the last page that has a photo from different people with every edition, instead they asked me if they could write a full article about the event. Although I was proud to have my photos included in the newspaper it was at this moment I decided that I want to upgrade my zoom lens to something better. I then bought a Nikkor 200-500mm zoom lens, which is massive and quite heavy, but the zoom was to die for. I also learned that having a full sensor for the camera body instead of cropped will also improve the quality of my photos a lot. It also said that all lenses I have would work "properly" with a full sensor. While ordering this big zoom lens I saw some DSLR cameras with full sensor on very good prices and so I went for it...
And now introducing my current Nikon D610 camera and the purpose of this task.
I have owned this camera for not so long, so I am still learning and trying out new things with it. So far I am extremely happy with the results and it is definitely better than my older camera. The body of this camera is slightly larger and heavier, but it has a lot more functions and buttons on it. And the best thing is that I can use all of my lenses with it and get even better results. This body can also hold two external memory cards - which means more photos and videos.
Release mode dial
Mode dial
Mode dial lock release
Eyelet for camera strap
Release mode dial lock release
Accessory shoe (for optional flash unit)
Accessory shoe cover
Power switch
Shutter-release button
Exposure compensation button
Movie-record button
Metering button
Focal plane mark
Control panel
Built-in flash
Mirror
Meter coupling lever
Lens mounting mark
Flash button
BKT (Bracketing) button
Infrared receiver
Built-in michrophone
Audio connector cover
HDMI/USB connector cover
Cover for accessory terminal
Lens release button
AF-mode button
Focus-mode selector
Headphone connector
Connector for external michropjone
USB connector
HDMI mini-pin connector
Accessory terminal
AF-assist illuminator
Sub-command dial
Depth-of-field preview button
Fn (function) button
Battery-chamber cover
Battery-chamber cover latch
Contact cover for optional MB-D14 battery pack
Power connector cover
CPU contacts
Lens mount
AF coupling
Tripod socket
Body cap
Viewfinder eyepiece
Rubber eyecup
Delete button
Playback button
Monitor
MENU button
Retouch/Picture control button
WB (white balance) button
Zoom in/QUAL button
Zoom out/ISO button
Diopter adjustment control
AE/AF button
Main command dial
Multi sensor
OK button
Focus selector lock
Memory card slot cover
Ambient brightness sensor for automatic
Live view selector
LV button
Infrared receiver (rear)
Memory card access lamp
Speaker
info button
The Mode Dial
The Release-Mode Dial
In addition to my camera body and lenses throughout the time I have obtained two tripods, extra camera battery, lens shades, lights, reflectors, defusers, product photography cube and a drone.
Questions:
Explain how you would set the correct ISO
On my old camera I would usually setup the ISO manually, according to the environment I'm shooting in. I always take a few "test" photos in the beginning to check if everything matches. On my Nikon D610 I have an option to set up the max ISO the camera would go in between. I have mine set up to switch between 100 and 500 ISO and not go any more than that, so I don't loose picture quality. If the photos are too dark I would increase the ISO to match up with the light.
Explain how you would change the aperture
As I said up in the post, I use my camera on Aperture-priority mode, which means I am able to change as I take the pictures. I use the Sub-command dial in front of the camera that is set up to respond to my aperture setting. I usually take pictures with different aperture even on the same object and pick the best ones to edit.
Explain how you would change the shutter speed
For the shutter speed, if I am trying to photograph fast moving objects (usually birds in flight) I would set up my camera to shutter priority and use the Sub-command dial to change it. I'd usually do burst of pictures and pick the best and clear ones in post production. I know shutter speed depends on the light and the ISO, so if my object is in a dark environment I would bump up the ISO to keep my shutter speed fast. And again test shots are needed in the begging to make sure everything fits up.
Conclusion:
Although I have done a lot of photos throughout the years I am yet to learn more about photography and different cameras. I have set my eyes on mirror-less cameras, but the prices are a bit too high for me for now and I am quite happy with the setup I have at the moment. These photography lessons and tasks are helping me to understand more and learn more, so I'm very excited to continue with that. I am by no means claiming to be a professional photographer just yet, because I release that I have a lot more to learn on the subject. :)
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